Fear and Anger
Feb. 4th, 2021 12:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maeve66I am so angry right now, and so scared.
My school has been in distance learning since last March 17th, 2020, but recent concerted efforts by politicians and apparently their CDC stooges threaten to reopen schools that have been closed across the United States, including in my district.
As teachers are pointing out across the US and in Canada, there is no plan at all to ACTUALLY have social distancing of 6 feet, because that would entail such small class sizes that they would need to hire more teachers and they refuse to do that, and because if the school day itself isn't drastically shortened (AND our workloads drastically increased), they would also have to have more physical space than they do. There is no plan at all to upgrade HVAC/air circulation. It is ludicrous to expect that students will keep their masks on the whole time, or refrain from touching each other in their vast relief at being able to be social once more, at least outside the classrooms.
The CDC announced that teachers can return to work without being vaccinated (because obviously vaccination roll out is not going to be a miracle of efficiency -- it's not even mandated for teachers in all California counties yet, including (as of today, at any rate) Alameda County, where I am.) What the hell?
I love teaching. I chose this job on purpose and for the long haul, and have resisted burn out (which is fucking common) by defending my own life outside of teaching. I value and appreciate my students. I am doing the absolute best that I can being creative with Zoom classes and distance learning. But I am very fat, and have diabetes and hypertension and have had bronchitis twice and pneumonia three times in my life, as well as H1N1 when that came around in 2009. I am the perfect candidate (except for not being over 65) for Covid-19. I fucking did not sign up for teaching in order to die. It is fucking UNCONSCIONABLE to demand that I die for my job. I cannot retire early; I can't afford to. I have to work another SEVEN fucking years before I will reach a mostly sustainable pension amount.
I got a letter from my doctor a month or two ago, in case of reopened schools... but Kaiser, my group insurer, gave me a form letter which just says my employers should follow national guidelines. Which presumably means who cares whether I get vaccinated before returning or not, now that some asshole at the CDC says it's not necessary.
I am so scared, and so angry.
My school has been in distance learning since last March 17th, 2020, but recent concerted efforts by politicians and apparently their CDC stooges threaten to reopen schools that have been closed across the United States, including in my district.
As teachers are pointing out across the US and in Canada, there is no plan at all to ACTUALLY have social distancing of 6 feet, because that would entail such small class sizes that they would need to hire more teachers and they refuse to do that, and because if the school day itself isn't drastically shortened (AND our workloads drastically increased), they would also have to have more physical space than they do. There is no plan at all to upgrade HVAC/air circulation. It is ludicrous to expect that students will keep their masks on the whole time, or refrain from touching each other in their vast relief at being able to be social once more, at least outside the classrooms.
The CDC announced that teachers can return to work without being vaccinated (because obviously vaccination roll out is not going to be a miracle of efficiency -- it's not even mandated for teachers in all California counties yet, including (as of today, at any rate) Alameda County, where I am.) What the hell?
I love teaching. I chose this job on purpose and for the long haul, and have resisted burn out (which is fucking common) by defending my own life outside of teaching. I value and appreciate my students. I am doing the absolute best that I can being creative with Zoom classes and distance learning. But I am very fat, and have diabetes and hypertension and have had bronchitis twice and pneumonia three times in my life, as well as H1N1 when that came around in 2009. I am the perfect candidate (except for not being over 65) for Covid-19. I fucking did not sign up for teaching in order to die. It is fucking UNCONSCIONABLE to demand that I die for my job. I cannot retire early; I can't afford to. I have to work another SEVEN fucking years before I will reach a mostly sustainable pension amount.
I got a letter from my doctor a month or two ago, in case of reopened schools... but Kaiser, my group insurer, gave me a form letter which just says my employers should follow national guidelines. Which presumably means who cares whether I get vaccinated before returning or not, now that some asshole at the CDC says it's not necessary.
I am so scared, and so angry.
no subject
Date: 2021-02-04 09:39 pm (UTC)We opened in September with all kinds of precautions. There were a ton of outbreaks reported and even more not reported. Teachers in plague-ridden schools had to refuse work (illegally) before the schools were closed. We were forced to close again in December because transmission rates skyrocketed (attributed to "community spread" not schools, because as we all know these are separate things). Now we're being forced back and the rates are higher than they were when we closed—even with underreporting, because they screwed that up—and we have two new, more transmissible strains.
Not even the union suggests that we should be a priority for vaccination, let alone be vaccinated before returning.
I chose this job knowing that I might have to take a bullet for a student but not a bullet that I take home and massacre my family with.
no subject
Date: 2021-02-05 06:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-02-05 06:51 pm (UTC)Alameda Fairgrounds will be opening for vaccines soon https://covid-19.acgov.org/covid19-assets/docs/press/press-release-2021.02.03.pdf - Feb 16th, and it includes "This includes people aged 65+ and essential workers in food & agriculture, emergency services, and education & childcare sectors." From what I learned at work, they will be making it available to the community, and you don't have to have their insurance. If you can't get the vaccine first through Kaiser, you can try seeing if any of the other hospitals allow you to get it. Unfortunately I don't think Stanford is allowing that yet. https://stanfordhealthcare.org/discover/covid-19-resource-center/patient-care/safety-health-vaccine-planning.html
no subject
Date: 2021-02-06 06:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-02-06 06:30 am (UTC)